Chapter 16 - Shattered Illusions
Silence descended over the library like a suffocating shroud.
Luca placed the crystal glass onto the table with a terrifyingly gentle clink. He didn't yell. He didn't pull his weapon. The absolute calm radiating from his massive frame was infinitely more horrifying than any explosive rage.
“Empty your pockets, Avery,” Luca commanded softly. His voice held absolutely no emotion, a dead void that made my blood freeze in my veins.
I couldn't breathe. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely manipulate the fabric of my dress. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small glass vial, placing it trembling onto the mahogany table next to his drink.
Marco immediately stepped forward, his gun now leveled squarely at my chest.
“She was going to kill you, Boss,” Marco snarled.
“Did you put it in the drink?” Luca asked me, ignoring his security chief entirely. His dark, hypnotic eyes bored directly into my soul, searching for the truth.
“No,” I choked out, a sob finally breaking through my chest. “I swear to God, Luca, I didn't poison the glass. I couldn't do it.”
Luca didn't blink. He reached out, picked up the glass of whiskey, and raised it toward the firelight. Then, in a move that made my heart completely stop, he brought the glass back to his lips and tipped it back, swallowing the harsh liquor in one smooth motion.
“Boss, no!” Marco yelled, lunging forward a second too late.
I screamed, falling to my knees in sheer terror. “Luca, what did you do?!”
Luca slammed the empty glass onto the table, staring down at me as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Seconds ticked by. Five. Ten. Twenty.
Luca remained perfectly still, breathing steadily, showing absolutely zero signs of the lethal nerve agent.
“She is telling the truth,” Luca stated coldly to Marco. “She didn't poison the drink.”
Before I could even process the insane test of loyalty he had just performed, a massive explosion rocked the very foundations of the estate. The heavy blast blew the antique windows of the library entirely inward, sending a shower of deadly glass across the Persian rug.
Alarms instantly began blaring a deafening, high-pitched wail throughout the entire compound.
“They breached the southern gate!” a guard screamed over the radio clipped to Marco’s shoulder. “It's Dante Romano! He brought a goddamn army!”
My uncle hadn't waited for the poison. The phone call had been a distraction to maneuver his remaining forces into position.
Luca hauled me off the floor by my arm, his protective instincts overriding his deep suspicion in a heartbeat. He shoved a heavy tactical pistol into my hands.
“Do you know how to use this?” Luca yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire erupting in the courtyard outside.
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“You just point and pull, right?” I cried, gripping the cold steel desperately.
“Stay exactly behind me,” Luca ordered, his eyes flashing with a violent, demonic promise as he chambered a round in his own weapon. “If you truly are just an innocent waitress, Avery, you are about to see exactly why they call me the Devil of the East.”
